SDT 52

Chapter 52 Dance with Me

Lu Kongyun stood on his balcony. Night had fallen, and the cruise ship cut through the dark sea. The wind carried a damp, salty tang mixed with the faint stench of fuel.

The ball hadn’t started yet, but noise from the upper-deck garden plaza was already spilling through the air. The music was muffled, only the bass thumped against his eardrums and chest.

He’d arranged to talk with Hao Dali at the ball tonight about his “quantum” research. During the day, the guard would be busy patrolling, and by tomorrow morning, the ship would dock at M Country’s port. After that, Hao Dali would return to Mr. Ye’s estate, replaced by the Expo staff. There wasn’t much time left.

Tonight would be the only chance.

Lu Kongyun shut the balcony door and turned back inside. His suit was hanging on the rack. Just as he reached for it, his phone lit up, an incoming call. It was Lu Qifeng.

He answered, set it on speaker, and began fastening his control bands.

“Brother.”

“Lu Kongyun,” came the cold voice through the receiver. “I heard you ran off to a cruise, and lit a sky lantern for some cheap jade bead at an auction?”

“Mm. I bought it.”

Lu Qifeng exhaled in disbelief. “Your body’s not cured and now your brain’s gone too?”

Lu Kongyun didn’t bother explaining. “That’s how auctions work. If something’s worth it, you pay the price.”

“The price isn’t the point. The point is what the hell you bought.” His brother’s tone was low and angry. “So what now, you’re into mysticism? It’s been two years. How much longer are you gonna stay crazy? What’s next, quantum mechanics?”

“How did you know?”

“What do you mean ‘how did I know’—” Lu Qifeng’s chair screeched loudly. “Last month you flew abroad just to attend some idiot scientist’s lecture on quantum mechanics and even added the guy on WeChat! Then word leaked that our military might collaborate with ORZ Corporation on quantum biochemical warfare tech. A few days ago, an unidentified stealth aircraft was detected over the national deep-sea lab. I’ve been chasing this damn mess ever since!”

“….” Lu Kongyun froze mid-button. His hand stilled.

“My bad,” he said after a pause. “Didn’t expect that kind of fallout. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Next time?! You’ve got some nerve! You even remember what your last name is? You gonna light a lantern for the whole Lu family next? Invite eight countries’ spy planes while you’re at it?”

“I was careless,” Lu Kongyun said quietly. “That was my mistake. Sorry.”

The line went silent for a moment. Lu Qifeng’s voice came again.

“You keep doing this, do you even know why? Because you feel guilty? Because you pity him? No. It’s because that low-level bastard made a fool out of you. Because you were blind, and when he died you finally realized it, and couldn’t stand it. That’s all this is.”

Lu Kongyun said evenly, “You understand me better than I do.”

He finished buttoning his shirt and reached for his jacket.

“Damn right I do,” Lu Qifeng said. “Your emotional intelligence has the texture of glass, smooth and hollow. Two years. If not for your constant interference, that case would’ve been closed long ago. If one day you realize you were wrong, will you apologize to the National Security Bureau for all the trouble you’ve caused?”

“Whoever’s wrong will apologize.”

Lu Qifeng gave a sharp, humorless laugh. “So you’re still gonna keep playing the lunatic, huh?”

“I’m not crazy.” Lu adjusted his collar in front of the mirror. “I’m just doing what makes sense.”

“Sense, my ass. You fried your brain along with your pheromones,” Lu Qifeng snapped. “I told you before, the military’s doubts aren’t baseless. Did it ever occur to you that you can’t find his body because he’s not dead? Because he’s not a martyr? Only you and those idiots in the precinct still believe that.”

Lu Kongyun said nothing.

“What if one day you see that traitor alive,” his brother continued coldly, “standing right in front of you, pretending not to know you?”

“What if he’s trying to wipe his past clean, sees you as an obstacle, even wants to hurt you?”

“What if, back in school, he really was just another naive Omega with a crush on the most handsome Alpha in class, but meeting you again only feeds some twisted revenge fantasy?”

“And when that day comes, what will you do? Keep lying to yourself? Be even dumber? Will you ask him to his face, if he loved you so much, why did he leave? I’ll tell you what’ll happen. He’ll laugh and say, ‘Second Young Master Lu, idiot, you really thought I liked you? You’re not a kid anymore. Don’t you know how boring you are? You’re just some gullible fool, easy to hook and throw back.’”

Lu Kongyun stood in silence for a long time. He seemed to be thinking.

Then he said firmly, “Impossible.”

Lu Qifeng snorted. “Fine. Keep living in your delusion. There’s no better revenge than this. It’s exactly what you deserve.”

His tone turned icy. “If you ever find out you were wrong, then you’ll kill that traitor yourself. That’ll be your apology.”

“Stop being insane, Lu Qifeng,” Lu said. “I’m busy.”

He hung up.

Lu Qifeng frowned. Something wasn’t right.

For the past two years, every time that Omega’s name came up, Lu Kongyun had reacted furiously, arguing, mocking, refusing to listen. But this time…

This time he’d gone quiet.

The seasoned intelligence chief felt it instantly, something had changed. He hesitated for a moment, then made a decisive call to his subordinate, Lu Renjia.

…

Yu Xiaowen stood in the rooftop garden plaza. The place glittered with lights. In the center stood a towering champagne tower surrounded by flowers. Long tables were lined with buffets, and smoke rose from the grill, carrying a rich, savory smell.

Guests were arriving one after another. Security staff were stationed all around. Yu Xiaowen leaned against a flower basket, sniffed a blossom, then looked up at the sky. The sea below was black, but the stars were bright. He liked it.

He’d looked through the pharmaceutical expo’s schedule, it lasted three days, jam-packed. After that, the “victim” would return to S Country.

Lu Kongyun said he wanted to talk. About what? Maybe he planned to make a personal donation, to help a “martyr’s family” live better?

He shook his head, pushing those ridiculous thoughts away.

Anyway, seeing him again, talking again, it was enough.

Every meeting might be the last.

The sea breeze blew through. When soft music began to play, the ball started. The lights dimmed; couples stepped onto the floor, swaying and chatting quietly.

“Hao Dali.”

He jumped, Dai Lanshan had appeared right beside him, voice low and too close. Yu Xiaowen turned fast, startled.

“What do you want?” He stepped back, irritated.

Dai Lanshan’s eyes were smiling, but not kindly.

“Did you sleep with Lu Kongyun?” he asked quietly.

“….” Fuck.

Yu Xiaowen was speechless. “Of course not. Aren’t you his friend? Is that what you think of him, that he’d hook up with a security guard?”

Dai Lanshan’s smirk turned sharp. “Oh? Then swear it. If you’re lying, may the sea swallow you whole.”

“…”

Technically, they had slept together. Once.

Yu Xiaowen’s face stiffened for a brief second. Dai Lanshan caught the pause and chuckled.

“So you did. Whatever. Not my business. I don’t get your kind, but I respect it,” Dai Lanshan said. “But I know you’re not who you pretend to be. You and Ye Yisan both have secrets. That’s what really matters.”

He looked at him seriously now, voice low but clear. “Don’t play Second Young Master Lu for a fool. I’m watching both of you.”

“…I won’t.” For the first time, Yu Xiaowen didn’t find him that annoying. He shifted his weight and said casually, “I won’t lie to Lu Kongyun. Once you guys leave, I won’t contact him again.”

Dai Lanshan gave him that same contemptuous look. “You? Honest? Please. You’ve been lying since the start. And Second Young Master’s a big fish. You expect me to believe you won’t reel him in?”

Yu sighed. “…This time, I mean it. No lies.”

He clasped his hands behind his back, fingers curling tight.

Dai Lanshan only gave a short, dismissive hum before walking off. He stopped by the champagne tower, opened a voice call, and showed the person on the other end both the tower and his own face.

A few minutes later, Yu Xiaowen saw him, the “victim”, coming up the stairs. Standing in the shadow just outside the glow of the lights, Lu Kongyun scanned the crowd, eyes quietly searching.

Then those eyes found him.

Their gazes met. But Lu Kongyun didn’t come closer. He just sat down at a small table nearby, beside the railing, where the dim light painted lines across his face.

His expression was cool, his hair brushed back to reveal his forehead. Even though every guest here wore formal attire, he somehow still stood apart, not just because of his looks, but because of that air about him.

He had that presence that made people wonder: Who could have made him come to something he clearly didn’t want to attend? That tension made it impossible not to look twice.

Yu Xiaowen’s heart was pounding when he finally walked over. He sat down across from him, resting his chin on his hand, smiling softly.

“You came,” he said with a low, teasing laugh.

Lu Kongyun didn’t respond to the warmth in his voice. His eyes slid away toward the ocean. “I have something to talk to you about.”

That stung. Seriously? I could understand you being cold when I was blackmailing you, but now I’m supposed to be a martyr’s brother and you still act like this?

Fine. He decided, tonight, he was going to get something out of this stoic man. Some kind of reaction.

After all, they’d only spent a few months together, and he’d been chewing on those memories for years like a cow chewing cud. He needed new material.

When a waiter passed by with a tray, Yu Xiaowen grabbed two glasses of wine and handed one to Lu Kongyun.

“Drink first. Talk after. Come on.”

“Cheers!” He downed half of his glass in one go.

Lu Kongyun stared at his own glass for a moment, said nothing, and followed suit.

“Done,” Lu said. “Actually, what I wanted to—”

“Wait.” Yu Xiaowen waved down another waiter and snagged the whole bottle, setting it on the table. He refilled both glasses to the brim.

He raised his again. “To your long life and happiness!”

“…” Lu Kongyun frowned slightly at the full glass, but drank anyway. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and quickly ate a few pieces of fruit from the platter.

A faint flush spread across his face.

He’s adorable, Yu Xiaowen thought, watching him, taking another sip of his own drink.

Every meeting might be the last.

Propping his chin on his hand again, eyes curving into a smile, Yu Xiaowen simply looked at him, soaking in every expression.

Lu Kongyun leaned back slightly, putting a bit more space between them.

“To your joy and peace,” Yu Xiaowen added, raising his glass once more.

Lu Kongyun emptied his cup again, eyes blinking slowly as he pressed a napkin to his lips.

A new song started, soft, languid. Couples drifted toward the center of the floor, swaying gently under the lights.

Yu Xiaowen watched them, then said, “In middle school, at the New Year’s dance, Omega students could invite an Alpha partner. I wanted to dance with the most popular Alpha in our grade, but I knew he’d never say yes. So I didn’t invite anyone. I never got another chance after that. But sometimes, I imagine that I did, that I danced with him that night.”

“I never went either,” Lu Kongyun said after a pause, his eyes following the movement of the dancers.

Yu Xiaowen chuckled.

“Oh, I get it. Too many people invited you, huh? Couldn’t choose, so you didn’t go at all, equal treatment for everyone. How noble.”

Lu Kongyun said, “No. No one invited me. My family once took a love letter someone sent me and pinned it on the school bulletin board. After that, no one ever dared to give me one again.”

…A love letter on the bulletin board?

“Your… family?” Yu Xiaowen’s back straightened; his eyes widened.

Family. Of course. Who else but that dog of a brother, Lu Qifeng. He barely kept himself from blurting his name out loud.

His feelings tangled, heat prickled at his eyes. It was ridiculous, absurd… and yet…

He had been hurt back then. That letter had left him humiliated for months. But now, realizing Lu Kongyun hadn’t done it himself, it felt comforting. Though even if he had done it, Yu Xiaowen told himself it would’ve made sense. He’d been that kind of shameless Omega anyway, and it wasn’t like Lu Kongyun would’ve read it otherwise. Posting it had at least made the effort worth something.

But his current identity meant he couldn’t show too much emotion. So he steadied his voice and said, jokingly, “Your family sure has talent, Mr. Lu. But don’t dwell on it. One day when you get married, you’ll dance with the right person.”

“….”

That didn’t seem to comfort him. Lu Kongyun’s face darkened. His gaze lingered on the dancers, lost and far away. The sea breeze brushed a strand of hair across his brow. His frown carried a strange loneliness, like he’d been left behind by the entire world.

That inexplicable solitude hit Yu Xiaowen’s chest harder than he expected.

But then Lu Kongyun blinked, and the moment passed. His tone returned to calm. “Can we talk about my matter now, Captain Hao?”

Yu Xiaowen stood abruptly. “Dance with me first.”

Lu Kongyun lifted his head, staring at him.

“I don’t dance.”

“Listen to the rhythm, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four.” Yu Xiaowen tapped the beat with his fingers. “Just move every two counts, you’ll be fine.”

Lu Kongyun looked at him as if the words made no sense.

Yu Xiaowen extended his hand, fingers relaxed and open. “I’ll teach you.”

“I don’t want to dance,” Lu said, ignoring the offered hand.

Oh, I know you don’t.

Yu Xiaowen smiled, sly and soft. “Before we talk business, one dance. After that, I’ll listen to anything you say.”

Lu Kongyun finally stood. Yu Xiaowen wiggled his fingers, and Lu Kongyun hesitantly placed his own against them. Xiaowen seized his hand, pulling lightly but firmly enough to make the slightly tipsy Lu Kongyun stumble forward into him.

“Careful,” Yu Xiaowen said with a crooked grin.

Lu Kongyun straightened instantly, stepping back to put distance between them.

Yu Xiaowen moved closer again, resting a hand lightly on his shoulder. He demonstrated a simple waltz step he’d seen at the estate. “You can move like this. Watch my feet. See? Step, step, turn, half spin.”

When he looked up, Lu Kongyun was staring straight into his eyes. There was something shining in them.

Yu Xiaowen froze, his hand dropping. “…What’s wrong? You hate dancing that much? Forget it then.”

“It’s the alcohol,” Lu Kongyun said, turning his face toward the sea.